Paired With The Devil
by Ingenuity15
Summary: Due to a decrease in magical population, the Ministry passes a new law. Are the matches that seem doomed to fail from the start, really the ones that are meant to be in the end? Marriage law fic Draco/Hermione Post Hogwarts / CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN!
1. Chapter 1

Heey everyone! First of all, yess I know marriage law is cliché but I really love this idea, and so I am trying my hand at one. If you are following my other fics, I thank you for continuing to follow my writing. And if this is your first time reading one by me, I'd love for you to go check out my other ones. And although my other ones have quite the bit of drama, I'm thinking of making this one more on the fluffy, humorous side. But that may change later on haha. One thing you should know about me is I love hearing what you think about what's going on (the plot line, the spelling, the grammar... whatever), any kind of feedback is wonderful and reviews always make my day. So take a few seconds and let me know your thoughts please! Anyways, hope you enjoy this first chapter and continue to follow it!

~Ingenuity15

Disclaimer: These really are stupid. I do not own these characters or a lot of these places as this is in fact _fan_fiction where _fans_ write based on stories they have read. Credit to these things goes to J.K. Rowling and the only thing I lay claim to is the plot line.

* * *

It had been 5 years since Voldemort had been defeated by none other than Harry Potter. With the surprising help of the Malfoys, Zabinis, and Parkinsons, the Order was able to organize a surprise attack which gave the-boy-who-lived the upper hand and they were now free from any threat of the dark wizards tyrannical regime. For these five long years, people have been rejoicing and settling into a normal routine to continue their lives once again. Things had just started to come around for them all, and now this had to happen...

______

_Dear Ms. Granger_

_It has come to our attention that due to the previous war and the deaths that were caused, there has been a severe decline in magical population. To rebuild the wizarding world to its prior glory, a new law has been passed. As of next week, August 1st, every witch and wizard between the ages of twenty to forty must marry and produce one child over the course of three years. To reduce the possibilities of mismatched marriages and animosity between couples, we have decided to place everyone with their perfect partner. Attached you will find a survey that will allow us to find your future husband. This must be filled out and passed into the ministry two days from now. Failure to comply with any of these requirements will be met with immediate dismissal from the wizarding community._

_Ministry of Magic  
__Department of Laws and Regulations_

Hermione continued to stare in shock at the letter she had received not ten minutes ago. Not only was she completely against them uprooting and possibly ruining everyone's lives, but by banning people from the wizarding world, weren't they just decreasing the population even more? And what exactly made them think they were capable of finding everyone's 'perfect partner'? This was all absurd!

So this was the choice she, a war heroine and brains of the Golden Trio, was forced to make; be forced into an arranged marriage or be banned from the place she had come to call home? There was no way to win with ether option, more of a 'choose the better of two evils' deal.

It was actually fairly easy to decide. She was too involved with her magic and her job to ever give them up, but look what that left her with? She could end up with anybody! Some forty year old balding man or someone like Crab or Goyle. Cue disgusted shiver here.

She hadn't even looked at the survey yet and she could tell this was never going to work. There is no way to tell someone's essential 'soul mate' by a few written answers on paper.

Hermione gave a rather large and disgruntled sigh before leaning back in her chair. She was seated in the kitchen of her flat with a now cold cup of tea sitting on the saucer in front of her. The amount of light spilling into the room told her that she was close to being late for work, but how could one worry about such things when hit with such big news?

Forcing herself to stand, Hermione grabbed both letter and survey and headed off to do her job as Head Healer at St. Mungo's.

.~***~.

It wasn't until noon that Hermione finally got the chance to sit at her office desk and review that damn survey she was being forced to take. To say it was ridiculous would be an understatement. Of course there was your standard 'What is your favourite color?' and 'describe your perfect first date'. But then there were others that were not so normal…

"If you were the color blue, what shade would you be... If you were a Crumpled-Horned Snorkack would you be extinct? Have they gone mental? What kinds of questions are these?" Hermione fumed at the 'little' survey in her hand. What she had thought was a small sheet of personality questions had actual been a piece of parchment enchanted to show one question at a time until they were all answered. Two hundred and sixty three questions later, ranging from the ridiculous to the bazaar, and she was finally completed. Now all she had to do was bring it down to the Ministry after work and wait for them to match her up with some random wizard to spend the rest of her life with. Definitely no reason to freak out.

Just as she put the piece of parchment down the door burst open and a blur of red flew in, leaping into Hermione's arms and sobbing.

"Oh, what am I going to do? I'm not ready to settle down. What if they match me up with some ogre who makes me become a house wife? I don't want to be my mother!" Ginny Weasley had been Hermione's closest girl friend for years. They had been there for each other when their relationships with Harry and Ron had gone south and had been each others confidents for everything. Obviously this was no exception.

"I know Gin. I don't want to do this ether, but we don't have much choice. Believe me; I would know if we did. I didn't even want to have a family and now I have to have a husband _and_ a child in three years, and I don't even get a say in who? I mean, at least you will be a good mother, but I don't know what the hell I'm going to do with a kid. I imagined living a scholarly life with nothing but my job, my books and my friends. They're taking away all of our future dreams Ginny." By now both girls were crying as they hugged one another. Thankfully the door had closed so no one could see their breakdown.

"We look a right mess now don't we?" Ginny chuckled as she straitened herself and wiped the stray tears from her cheeks. "I dare say we have reason to, but no matter. We'll take this one day at a time. Who knows, maybe we're being too cynical and the Ministry actually knows what they're doing." Hermione gave her a sceptical look and they both broke into peals of laughter.

"The day I kiss Malfoy will be the day the ministry gets anything right, and we both know that's never going to happen." She snorted.

"Well at least promise me we'll get through this together, ok?" Ginny held out her pinkie and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her expectant face. She held out her pinkie as well and the two girls hooked them together.

"Promise."

.~***~.

The line at the Ministry to drop off the surveys was huge and it took Hermione hours longer than she thought to reach the front and sign some more forms 'consenting' to all of this. One form took all blame off of the Ministry should there be any problems with the marriage. That really made her feel confident about their matching abilities.

Now realizing that she was late for a supper arrangement with her parents, Hermione walked as fast as she could through the still crowded room and was almost to one of the floos when she was rudely shoved into another person.

That person was much larger and she ended up losing her balance, only to find herself righted by the strong arms of the man she had crashed into. About to say her thanks and leave, she was stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hermione Granger?"

* * *

I know it's not long at all, but it really is a set up chapter if anything. They will definitely get longer from here so no worries about that. So what do you think so far? Love to hear your opinions and although I have most of what I want to happen mapped out, your thoughts for future chapters are always welcome. Hope you continue to read this!

Open heart,  
~Ingenuity15


	2. Chapter 2

Heey. So big thanks to everyone who has taken an interest in this story and to everyone who is just generally following me as an author. Your reviews make my day, no matter how small they are, and I always look forward to hearing from you guys. Glad to know it's off to an interesting start and hope you continue to enjoy the future chapters! For details on why there was such a long wait, it's been posted on my profile. I sincerely apologize and assure you it won't happen again!

~Ingenuity15

readingwriter01: Thank you for your review. As for what kind of Draco I'm going to have, you'll just have to read and find out ;)

Hans153: You may be able to guess where it's going, but I thought you knew me better than that. I love twists! Haha

Lots of love to everyone else who reviewed as well!

* * *

_"Hermione Granger?"_

Hermione looked up, only to be greeted by the beaming face of Blaise Zabini.

"Blaise, it's so good to see you again! How have you been?"

During the strategy meetings the Order had held - which were attended by the Zabinis, Malfoys and Parkinsons – Blaise and Hermione had gotten to become good friends. And although she hadn't seen him in the five years that had past, it was not hard to tell he was the same humorous, intelligent man. Not to mention he was very attractive.

Standing at about 6'0 with a strong, muscular build; his dark Italian complexion and black, curly, chin length hair only served to emphasize his strong bone structure. Although his most striking feature had to be his eyes, which were a unique indigo color and constantly shined with mirth. If Hermione had to say only one thing about Blaise, it would be that he was the most laid back and level headed man she had ever met.

"Things have been going exceedingly well. Unless, of course, you count this new law these idiots have come up with. Do they honestly think they can match everyone up in a bonding, life long union - with people they've probably never met before - and expect us all to be excited about it? I mean really, who could possibly want something like this?" he ranted.

"Why Blaise, I do believe that is the most negative thing I've ever heard you say." Hermione teased. She loved how easy it was to slip into their old friendship, no matter how small it had been at the time. "However I think you are wrong on saying no one is excited."

"Oh, and how do you figure that? I may never speak to you again if you say you are happy with this."

"Oh Gods no! I was talking about those two bimbos behind you squealing about getting matched with 'Bachelor of the Year'." She nodded over his shoulder and sure enough right behind him were two plastic blondes whose giant fake breasts looked like they were going to make an escape from their tops with all the bouncing they were doing.

"Hmmm." Blaise hummed as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What do you think my chances are of getting one of them as my wife?"

Hermione smacked him playfully on the chest while he laughed. "You know Blaise, I just lost any respect I may have held for you with that comment."

Their laughter and light banter carried on until it was interrupted by a voice Hermione had hoped never to hear again.

"Well if it isn't know-it-all Granger. Do you ever brush that hair of yours? I think it has actually gotten worse since I last saw you."

"Malfoy. What an unfortunate surprise. I see you haven't come up with any new insults in five years." Hermione replied with disdain.

Just because they had worked together for the light, did not by any means make them friends, or even acquaintances. If you asked Blaise, he would have said their bickering had dramatically increased in the closer working proximity they had been in. Knowing there was absolutely no point in trying to stop them, he took a step back to watch the show.

"Oh Granger, I'm going to dearly pity the man who gets stuck with you. I mean can you imagine it Blaise? Being bound to her for life as she nags you to Avada yourself." Draco sneered.

Blaise held up his hands in a defensive gesture and took another step away from them. "Hey, leave me out of this. I have nothing against ether of you so I am now declaring myself Switzerland. You two enjoy hacking each other to pieces; I'm staying uninvolved in your ridiculous arguments."

"See Malfoy, I'm not the only one who thinks these fights are absurd! School's over, the war is over, so why must you hold onto these silly grudges? I try to be civil, I really do, but you make it so hard when the first thing out of that pompous mouth of yours is an insult!" Hermione was getting angry now and Draco could tell. He didn't know why, but riling her up amused him to no end.

"Well, if there weren't so many things about you to insult, I might have an easier time trying to be civil." He smirked at her as her hands tightened to fists at her side.

"You arrogant, pretentious, self-important, son of a…"

"Oh my god! That's him! Draco Malfoy, Bachelor of the year! Oh I just know I'm going to get matched up with him. We're soul mates!" One of the blondes interrupted Hermione's angry rant with her squeals of delight. The two floozies she had pointed out to Blaise before were jumping up and down excitedly while sending flirtatious looks to Draco, who was smirking smugly at Hermione.

"And that is the kind of reaction people of class get when they step outside of their homes."

Hermione snorted in an unladylike fashion at Draco's declaration. "No, that's the reaction pigs with money get when they flaunt the fact that they will sleep with anything on two legs!"

"Not true Granger, I would never screw you. That's pushing even my limits, I mean; I really don't see how anyone would actually want to be with you. This law was probably your idea in the first place so you could trick some poor, unsuspecting bloke into a marriage with you." Hermione was truly hurt by this statement, not that she would ever let Malfoy know he had actually gotten to her. Just because she had some bad experiences with dating and that men were intimidated by her intelligence did not mean she was undesirable! She set her face into a look of indifference and coldly excused herself.

"As much as I would love to stay here and listen to you insult me Malfoy, I have prior engagements. If you'll excuse me, Blaise, it was nice seeing you again." And with that, she stormed the rest of the way across the room and into a fireplace to floo straight to her parent's house. It was time to face the long conversation she was sure awaited her.

.~***~.

Draco and Blaise watched as she stormed away, Draco surprisingly feeling a little guilty while Blaise was thoughtful. Finally, the Italian burst into laughter and Draco just stared at him in confusion. "I have a very good feeling that you may have just insulted your future wife there Draco. You'll be in the dog house before you're even married!"

Draco narrowed his eyes at his laughing friend and spoke angrily. "There is no way on earth that I will ever be matched up with Granger. I mean we're complete opposites and not compatible at all!" Draco denied. "And I mean, isn't the goal of the Ministry to put us with our 'soul mates' so we can 'repopulate the magical world. They'd have to know that I wouldn't touch Granger with a ten foot pole!"

Blaise wiped the tears from his eyes as he continued to chuckle. "Yeah, Hermione would castrate you before you even got within a ten mile radius of her." Draco gulped and looked down towards his family jewels, knowing that if anyone would actually follow through in chopping them off it would be Granger.

"Don't joke about things like that mate. Even the mere idea of being stuck with Granger makes me want to lock myself in Azkaban and throw away the key." Draco replied dramatically.

Blaise slapped him on the back. "Oh, stop being such a pansy." He started to pull away. "Besides, you and Hermione already bicker like an old married couple, shouldn't be too much different for you." He continued to back away as Draco sneered at him. "Besides, this might be your chance to get rid of all that sexual tension between you two." He laughed and was lost to the crowd as he went to hand in his survey.

Draco was left behind glowering after Blaise. It had been a running joke all throughout the war that Blaise, Potter and Weasley had decided on; all the resentment between himself and Granger was just sexual tension and after one romp in the sac everything would be daisies and buttercups. Draco never, and still didn't, appreciate their humour towards the matter. He thought it was forgotten, but apparently it was one of those ideas that never died – even after 5 years.

Letting out an unsatisfied groan, Draco made his own way through the crowd to hand in the damn survey that was sure to ruin his life. His only hope was that for once the Ministry knew what they were doing, although that gave him very little comfort. Finishing up here, Draco made his way to the floo and resigned himself to an hour of torture; tea with his mother.

.~***~.

"So basically, I filled out a list of ridiculous questions and now, in less than a week, I will have a fiancée, who will quite possibly be a complete stranger, and a deadline for a marriage I never wanted as well as a deadline for a child I don't have the time, or desire, to produce!" Hermione finished explaining the situation to her parents who were each giving her equal looks of shock. It had been over tea after dinner that Hermione had decided to spring the news, and she was glad now as an awkward silence filtered amongst them.

With no warning her mothers face broke into a grin and she found herself being hugged. Well this wasn't exactly the sympathy she had been hoping for or the outrage she had been expecting. In fact, this was so far from the list of possible reactions she had considered that she didn't know how to respond.

"Oh, my babies going to get married!" Her mother squealed before releasing her and sitting back down, grabbing hold of her husbands arm in excitement. "Herald, isn't this amazing?"

"Yes, we didn't even need to have our talk with her." He smiled brightly.

Hermione stared at them in confusion. "What do you mean 'have our talk'? And didn't you hear me? I have to get married to a stranger! I have to have a kid! What about my work? It's taken me years to get my position as Head Healer at St. Mungos! All of it's ruined by some stupid law!" She pouted.

Her parents gave her a pitying look. Finally they got it! "This is exactly what we wanted to talk to you about. Your priorities were always a little off honey. Don't get us wrong, we're very proud of how hard you've worked and everything you've accomplished, but you're twenty-four now dear! It's time you settled down and started a family of your own." Her father stated kindly. Ok, maybe they didn't get it.

Her response was a look of disbelief. "How could you possibly agree with this? You too mother! I'm still too young to be tied down and now I'm going to be stuck in some loveless marriage for life!"

"Pish-posh darling. You said they were matching you with the love of your life, so obviously it will be a marriage full of love and compassion! Besides, if this gets me some grandbabies I'm all for it!" Hermione's mother, Jane stated happily.

Hermione just sighed and stared into her now lukewarm cup of tea. There was no use arguing with either of them. She could only hope the man she ended up with would be someone who could change her mind about the entire situation.

.~***~.

"You can't possibly be for this mother! I mean, what good could me tying the knot with a complete stranger be? They could stick me with a money-guzzling hussy for all we know!" Draco stared in incredulity at his parents as he joined them in their weekly afternoon tea. His father - switching sides in the end - was spared a sentence to Azkaban… He was however placed under house arrest. Now it was Narcissa's job to fix his belief system, which she had never assumed herself. It had taken a while, but he was a lot better when it came to blood status.

"Draco, they're going to partner you up with your perfect match! You should be ecstatic that you don't have to do any of the work finding her yourself, as we both know how lazy you are. Besides, you're turning twenty-five in a short while and it's about time you settled down and extended the family line." Narcissa took a sip out of her cup before placing it delicately on the table in front of her.

Draco continued to argue. "But mother, what if they stick me with a half-blood or a muggle born? Our line of pure-blooded ancestry will be ruined!" Draco really didn't care, but he was hoping that by stating this, his father would speak up and maybe use what small influence he had to fix all of this. His mother had thought of that and had it covered.

Lucius rubbed his side discreetly where his wife had just elbowed him and replied mechanically. "Whoever your match turns out to be, no matter her blood status, she will be welcomed into our family. Blood does not make a witch or wizard any better or worse. We are all equals no matter our heritage." He winced painfully at the thought of the Malfoy line being tainted, but knew better than to open his mouth.

Draco sighed and resigned himself to his current fate. Hopefully whoever they matched him to would change his mind about the whole situation.

.~***~.

**(Two days later at the Ministry of Magic.)**

"Well this is the last of them. Do you really think this will work?" The ministry official asked his colleague as they dumped the final surveys into the old hat.

"I don't see why not. I mean, if it can pick which house a student is most suited for I'm sure it can pick out some 'soul mates'." The two men looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm only glad I have my wife at home and don't have to be subjected to this." They reached the door and the first man looked back into the nearly empty room, the only objects in there being a stool and the aged hat that sat atop it. "Okay, oh mighty sorting hat, do your worst." They laughed again as they firmly shut the door behind them, cutting off all noise.

The sorting hat sat in the silence, chuckling at the naivety of the ministry workers.

"Some may doubt me  
For I'm but a hat,  
Old with holes  
And grimy at that.

But don't be fooled,  
Appearances deceive,  
For I'm the sorting hat  
And I always achieve

My goals and roles  
And anything you desire.  
I'm clever and sharp  
And I never tire.

So give me a task,  
Ask me a question,  
I'll certainly astound  
With a favourable impression.

Now you set me to match  
A him to a her.  
You don't know how easy  
These matches truly were.

I coupled them up,  
Ready for true love.  
But one match surprised me;  
One match I think of.

The lioness is fierce,  
The serpent is cunning,  
One look at the other  
Will set them both running.

But because I am the sorting hat  
And know what they do not,  
I know there is no stronger love  
Then those two souls have got."

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So how was that do you think? I know the sorting hats poem may kind of suck but aw well, I tried and at least it rhymes! Haha. Once again, soooo sorry for the massively late update. Hopefully the next chapter will be up in a week. Also, I know these first two chapters are kind of short, but I promise to make them longer as the chapters go on! As always, hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought!

Still beating heart,

~Ingenuity15


	3. Chapter 3

So here's chapter 3! This one didn't want to come out at all, but I managed to get through it. I know these chapters are fairly short but once I get the first little bit of this story out they should start to get longer. I don't know how long this story is actually going to be, but I was planning on making it more along the lines of a short and flufier piece compared to the other fics I have going, although I have a few twists to throw in there, more on the humorous side though instead of the usual dramaticness that is involved in my fics. Feel free to let me know if you have and objections to this!

~Ingenuity15

ria-bee: Aw, thank you for boosting my ego haha! Love knowing when people like my writing and hopefully you'll continue to enjoy this fic and that I won't disappoint you at any turn!

Also, thanks for all the compliments on the sorting hat song. I didn't think it was very good but hey, if you all liked it then surely it can't be too bad :]

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Hermione was looking up into the clouds as she lay in the grass of the Weasley's yard, trying hard not to think about that damn law. The past few days had been hell and now she was just waiting for the letter so she could get things over with. If that wasn't bad enough, Ron had been throwing hints out there that maybe they'd be lucky enough to get paired together.

It wasn't that she didn't love him - she did - just not in the way he wanted her to. By the time their relationship finally came to an inevitable end, her feelings or him were more for a brother than anything and even the thought of marrying him, and spending the rest of her life with him as her husband, made her visibly cringe. Again, don't get her wrong, he was an amazing friend, but living her life in a one sided relationship where her feelings were only platonic was not how she pictured her future; not that marrying and starting a family with a man assigned to her by the ministry was her idea either.

Ron wasn't the only one who had been mourning a lost relationship however. Hermione had noticed the glances Harry and Ginny would give each other and it made her heart break for them. She didn't understand their breakup, they had always been perfect for each other, and now apparently they didn't understand it either. Harry had actually been planning on asking Ginny to be with him again before this stupid law came to pass. Now they were just waiting for fate to take its course.

"Why so down Hermione? You'd think the ministry was trying to take over our lives or something by the look on your face."

"Didn't you her Fred? That's exactly what's happening! Bunch of rubbish if you ask me, though I dare say the woman who gets all of this won't be complaining." Hermione looked over at George who was now gesturing at himself while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. She couldn't help the tiny grin tugging on the corners of her lips. The Weasley twins never seemed to fail in cheering up everyone around them.

"What are you talking about George? We both know that _I'm_ the good looking twin, and the smartest, and the most charming... Whoever gets stuck with you is only going to be jealous of the lucky lady who gets to call _me_ her husband."

"There is no way that you are more handsome than I am! I mean, have you seen this freckle here? It is the most beautiful freckle around!"

"Well have you seen this hair? You can't get a more gorgeous color than this hair… Ouch! What was that for?"

"Well now you're gorgeous strand of hair is gone and I am still the better looking twin."

"Hermione! Tell George that I'm by far the more handsome twin."

"Yeah Hermione, tell him what we all already know and that I'm the more devishly handsome one!"

By now Hermione was in full blown hysterics. The twins had turned to look at her with hands on their hips and eyebrows quirked while waiting for an answer they weren't likely to get anytime soon.

Hermione finally managed to catch her breath and wiped away a few tears that had formed. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Fred and George looked at her in confusion before becoming concerned as she seemed to grow paler by the second.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" They asked at the same time. She could only manage to gape and point at something over their shoulders. They turned around and saw six owls flying towards them.

.~***~.

"So who's going to open theirs first?" Hermione asked the group. She was in the living room of the Burrow standing in a circle with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George while they all stared at the letters in their hands; letters that would change all of their lives forever.

"Why are we staring at these like they're ready to blow? If no one else is brave enough I'll go first." Fred said. As he was opening the parchment he couldn't help but get in one last dig at his brother. "I guess this makes me the more courageous twin as well."

George flipped him off and everybody let out a tight laugh as everything was smothered in tension. They watched as he read through the words on the sheet and broke out into a huge grin as he exclaimed, "George!"

"Please tell me you're just trying to get my attention and I'm not going to become Mrs. Fred Weasley." Laughter consumed them as Fred smacked him upside the head with the now rolled up parchment.

"Oh please, like you'd be good enough for me. Now if you'd have let me finish you would know that I will be making an honest woman out of Katie Bell." Hermione was happy for him. She knew he had been vying for her attention for a while now and knew Katie was probably one of the only ones able to handle all that was Fred Weasley.

George decided to go next and luckily was paired with his long time girlfriend Angelina Johnson. "Why'd I even fill out that damn survey? I was apparently doing just fine and dandy picking for myself."

"Yes, but at least this way she can't say no and run the other way when you ask her to marry you." Fred dodged a blow from George, jumped the couch and out to the yard again, laughing as his fuming twin chased after him.

"Those girls are going to have a rough time with those two, I have no doubt." Ginny laughed but it soon died, leaving an awkward silence as the remaining four looked between themselves and then to the letters.

Ron cleared his throat. "I guess I'll go then." His shaking hands ripped the seal and he opened the page. At first he seemed confused, but that confusion soon turned to disbelief. "They've got to be kidding me! Pansy Parkinson! They put me with a Slytherin! And not just a Slytherin… but her!" He tried to sound angry but Hermione just laughed at him.

"Come off of it Ron. We all know that you've been crushing on Pansy since she started working with us in the Order." Surprisingly, they had all found a friend in Pansy during those meetings. Sure she was a bitch a lot of the time, but somehow they had found her kinder side. Ron had obviously been smitten by her and Pansy had always been somewhat softer around him, but they had lost touch after the war and hadn't seen or spoken to each other since. Apparently it all worked out for them anyways.

Ron's ears turned red and he folded his arms while grumbling something along the lines of 'did not'. It looked like Hermione was still contemplating whether to open hers or just burn it, so Harry and Ginny took it upon themselves to open it together.

It took a moment for it to sink in before Harry grabbed Ginny around the waist and kissed her like his life depended on it. Ginny's hands wove up into his hair and his grip tightened around her. It wasn't until Ron shouted at them to stop before they burned his eyes out that they pulled apart.

"So I'm guessing you guys are getting married then?" Hermione asked rhetorically, although by the way they were grinning like madmen and holding each other she took it to be a yes. "I'm so happy for you two!" She hugged them both before being reminded of her own letter.

"Come on Hermione. You're an amazing person and I'm sure if they got all of our matches right that the name of your Mr. Perfect will be written inside." So it was with the encouragement from all of her closet friends that she found the will to read the words that were sure to change the rest of her life.

It wasn't until an hour later that she realized she had fainted.

.~***~.

Draco landed his broom next to Blaise's as they both panted heavily, sweat dripping from both of their bodies. He pated his friend on the back as they caught their breath. "Nice dive on that last one. I was sure you were going to beat me to it."

They had started a weekly ritual of getting together two out of the seven days to get some Quidditch practice in, both to keep in shape and to improve on the game they both loved. Today they were both playing seeker as they continually released the snitch and raced the other to catch it.

"Almost, but you always seem to be there a second before me." Blaise pouted at this. Out of the fifteen rounds they had played, Blaise had won three.

Draco smirked. "I just have skills. No point playing the master, but maybe I'll let you win next time." He dodged as Blaise attempted to punch his arm, but froze mid laugh as two owls flew down to where they were.

They each took their individual letter before silently partaking in a game of rock, paper, scissors which Blaise unfortunately lost. "Fine. I'll open mine first then."

Always calm, Blaise opened it and quickly scanned its contents. "Luna Lovegood. Who's that?"

Draco burst into laughter at what he thought was his friend's misfortune. "She was that crazy chick from Ravenclaw. You know the one who followed the Quibbler like it was her religion?"

Blaise thought for a moment before recognition lit up his face. "The one with the blond hair who always had a dreamy look? She was hilarious! I think this might actually work out." He smiled at Draco's incredulous look. "Hey, why don't you find out who you have before you start making fun of my future wife?"

"Fine. It can't get any worse than 'Loony' Lovegood." It wasn't until he opened the letter that he realized how wrong he truly was. After reading the name of the woman he would spend of his life with, Draco leaned to the side and started to dry heave, his stomach turning like crazy.

Worried and curious, Blaise picked up the letter that had fallen from Draco's hands and read it, finding out the reason for his friends current state.

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

_We are pleased to inform you that the matches have been made and everything was a success. We wish to remind you that you have three years to marry and produce a child with your assigned match. Failure to do so will result in your removal from the wizarding world. As I am sure you must be curious, it is our pleasure to inform you that your perfect partner in life is:_

_Hermione Granger._

_We wish you the best of luck in your future together and hope to hear of your upcoming wedding soon._

_Ministry of Magic  
Department of Laws and Regulations_

.~***~.

Hermione was fuming as she stormed her way through the Ministry. How dare they? This wasn't some kind of joke, this was her life! And she wasn't about to let them do this to her. Seriously, Draco Malfoy? Of all the bloody wizards in the world they had decided that he was he perfect match. Fucking lunatics, the lot of 'em.

She made it to the door leading to the office of the Head of the Department of Laws and Regulations only to find out she wasn't the only one with a bone to pick. Knocking furiously on the door was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"I don't care what the fuck you say. There is no way I am marrying that Gryffindor know-it-all and if you know what's good for you, you'll open this door and find me someone else!"

No matter how she herself felt about the match, she still felt insulted that he would be so adamant about not being with her either. She knew it was irrational, but she felt it all the same.

The door swung open and a rather short and scared looking man came into view, talking in a rather high and squeaky voice. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm just taking over for a few days while the Head of this department is on vacation. I am however positive there is no way to change who you've been paired with."

"What do you mean there's no way? I will not marry this, this… ferret! Someone had better do something to fix this!" Hermione made herself known to the other two as she stomped the rest of the way over to them.

"I… I take it you are Ms. Granger then?" The man stuttered, obviously intimidated by the two angry people in front of him. "As I've said to Mr. Malfoy, you signed the contracts. Either you follow the law or you will spend the rest of your lives in the muggle world. I'm sorry but nothing can be done and you two must learn to live together." With that, he slammed the door in their faces and coward behind it, terrified of what they may do.

Things were silent for a moment before Draco rounded on Hermione. "This is all your fault!"

"How in Merlin's name is it my fault?" Hermione yelled back at him.

He clenched his fists at his sides and approached her slowly. "If you were never born or had just married the Weasel like we all knew you should have I wouldn't be stuck with you. What did you do? Find some way to copy my answers? Cheat the system so you would end up with me? Gods you're pathetic. This entire thing was probably your idea. No poor bloke wants the ugly Mudblood so she forces a law to make one marry her. I knew you were a desperate one Granger, but I didn't know you were psychotic as well." By the time he had finished Hermione was shoved against the wall while he towered over her. Tears were forming in her eyes and despite her greatest efforts they fell.

"You know what Malfoy, I'm sick of you. You and your spiteful words and arrogant attitude. No I didn't set this up and why would I ever want to be with someone like you? Someone who would only make me miserable and feel like shit everyday for the rest of my life. I hope you got all of the insults out of your system because I'm done. Say goodbye to your wand Malfoy, because I would rather live alone without magic than marry you." She spat, walking away angry while at the same time confused. She had never let Malfoy get to her before, so why did his rejection of her hurt so much?

.~***~.

Draco watched her leave and felt the first pangs of guilt overtake him. This had been almost the same argument that he had had with her only days prior, only this one had escalated until he had left her in tears.

For some reason it had pained him to watch her hurting from his words and he had actually felt the need to… apologize?

With a sigh of resignation, Draco left for his own flat, knowing that he would have to make it up to Hermione if he was going to save his future and clear his newly developed conscience.

.~***~.

The next morning found Hermione curled up on her couch with a tawdry romance novel and a carton of ice cream, which she was eating straight out of with a spoon. This was her way of sulking. Fleece pyjamas with duckies all over them and a tub of rocky road. Nothing better.

She had just gotten to the part where boy meets girl, but instead of making her feel better – as it usually did – it only succeeded in making her feel worse about her own situation. Why couldn't she have that? Why couldn't she find a Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet and carry her to their happily ever after?

However, that was fantasy and this was reality, and right now, reality sucked.

Before she could read anymore of the paragraph, there was a knock on the door. She planned on ignoring it, but the person on the other side kept on insistently until she gave in. "Alright, alright! I'm coming!" She threw open the door to give that person a piece of her mind only to have a bouquet of roses shoved into her face. She took them and was shocked by who was standing there.

"Stop gaping Granger and come on. I'm taking you out."

* * *

So how was that? Get's the story going some, and next chapter is going to be their first date... sort of! Exciting right? Maybe they'll get along! And then again maybe not :p Sorry once again for the late update but like I said, this chapter did not want to come out. Working on the next one soon but not quite sure when it will get out. Also, check out my profile and vote on which two stories you want in the New Year. I'm hoping to get at least three new chapters for this story out by then and honestly, with what I have planned that will have us over the half way mark for this fic! Anyways, let me know what you thought!

Happy Holidays!  
~Ingenuity15


	4. Chapter 4

Soo, not going to give you guys any more excuses on how technologie hates me, just know that this is the first chance I've been able to update and read my profile for what's going to be the new schedule! That's right, I'm putting myself on a schedule in hopes of being more reliable with updates! If this is the only fic of mine you're following I'll just let you know here that it will be updated on Wednesdays effective next week!

~Ingenuity15

twistedartist: sorry that the chapters of this story are fairly short, but I promise to make the next one extra long!

SharpestSatire: Glad you're enjoying it and hope you continue to read!

Thanks for all the other reviews. If you had any questions that haven't been answered feel free to pm me! Have an idea of where I'm going with this fic but still not sure if I want to make it short and sweet with some fiery spats or filled with loads of drama like a few of my fics… or maybe an inbetween somewhere? As of now I'm leaning towards the short and sweet with one twisty in there… Let me know if you hate that idea while I'm not invested though! haha.

* * *

_"Stop gaping Granger and come on. I'm taking you out."_

Hermione merely stared at him as if he had grown another head. What the hell? It looked like Malfoy, and sounded like Malfoy; but the words coming out of his mouth were certainly not Malfoys!

"I'm sorry. Are you under the imperious or something?" She asked, no other possibilities coming to mind.

Draco huffed impatiently. "Yes Granger, because clearly someone put me under the imperious so I could bring you some stupid flowers and take you out on a… date." He said the word with difficulty, as if it pained him to use it. The expression soon turned humorous however as he perused her form. "Nice pyjamas by the way."

Peeved, Hermione tried to slam the door in his smirking face only to have it stopped by his hand at the last second. "Dammit Granger. I'm trying to do us both a favour here."

Hermione sighed but let the door swing open again, one hand on her hip while the other rubbed her temple. "What do you want?"

"To come to a truce. I mean, I know we hate each other and we don't exactly get along but I really, really don't want to lose my wand and I know you don't either. I say we try and be civil and give it a shot. If we don't kill each other great but if we do at least we won't have to worry about being banned to the muggle world. I'd prefer death over that fate actually…" He mused.

Hermione snorted in disbelief. Fine, he wanted to play nice and so she would go along with it. Her bet was that it wouldn't even last the day. "Fine, we'll see how it goes. You can sit on the couch while I change if you like." She was about to turn around to go to her room but he stopped her before she could.

"You're forgetting these." He held the bouquet of flowers to her and she took them gingerly.

"Thank you." He nodded stiffly and walked past her to sit on the couch she had indicated earlier. His rigid posture gave away his anxiety as Hermione quickly conjured up a vase and went to put on something more appropriate for their "date".

It didn't take her long to change into a pair of light wash skinny jeans and a blue turtleneck sweater that Ginny always told her brought out her eyes. She wasn't trying to impress Malfoy, but if they were going to give this a go it wouldn't hurt to put a little effort into it.

Upon returning to her living room, she found Malfoy studying some of the photos on her mantle piece. Some were of her with her family while others were of her, Harry, Ron and Ginny. Currently he was looking at one with her parents that was taken with a muggle camera.

"Having fun?"

He spun around quickly and tried to recover. "I think you're picture is broken Granger. It's not moving."

She laughed. His ignorance really was amusing, and besides, she knew it ticked him off when someone laughed at him. She'd try to be nice but she was only human. "It was taken with a muggle camera Draco. Their pictures don't move."

"Not at all?" he asked in surprise.

"Not an inch." Before he could say something snide – as she knew he would – she grabbed his arm and started to drag him to the door. "Let's get going so we can get this over with."

"Now, now Granger. Play nice." He smirked. She rolled her eyes and let go of him.

"So where are we going?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." He grabbed her arm and she suddenly felt the air being squeezed from her lungs as if a rubber band were constricting around her. She spun hopelessly for a moment before her feet touched solid ground.

"Malfoy, you arsehole." She gasped, as she tried to regain her breath. Her companion was laughing hysterically and couldn't stop.

"You sh…should have se…en your f…face!" Hermione glowered at him as he calmed himself down, but when he continued to laugh she stormed out of the alley they had apparated in. If he wanted to continue being a bastard after side-apparating her without notice then he could do so all the way to the muggle world. "Come on Granger! It was meant to be funny! You know? Haha, like a joke? You must know what that is Granger, I mean that stick can't be too far up your arse…"

He was cut off as Hermione's wand pressed into his throat. "I would stop talking if I were you Malfoy. You're digging yourself a pretty big hole there." She felt her wand move as he swallowed and, satisfied that her point was made, retracted it. Placing it in her pocket she turned on her heal and continued out of the alley with Malfoy trailing behind her. "And here I thought you really wanted to give this a shot. If you're not serious about this Malfoy then tell me now because I would rather not waste my time."

"Fine Granger. I'll try harder if you do." He said grudgingly before stopping her and pointing to the wizarding café across the street. "I thought we'd stop in there for some brunch. Only if that's ok with you of course." The last part was said with heavy sarcasm which Hermione decided to ignore.

"Lead the way."

.~***~.

Awkward, and painfully so. That was the only way to describe the ten minutes that passed after they had been seated. For what was probably the first time in history they were both silent and had absolutely no idea how to start any kind of civil conversation.

Hermione had contented herself with reading the menu for the fourth time and Draco now had a nice pile of napkin shreds in front of him as he couldn't stop his hands from fidgeting.

"So… have you decided what your getting?" Draco cleared his throat and attempted to break the tension.

Startled, Hermione finally looked over at him. "I think so. Have you?"

"Yes. So I guess we should order now?" It came out more as a question than a statement. Hermione nodded her head and Draco waved over one of the waitresses.

"Are you two dolls ready to order?" The woman must have been in her late 70's and spoke like she had just stepped out of a diner from the 60's. Hermione could tell she was kind but honestly, she didn't really seem to be all there.

Draco was the first to answer her. "I'll have a pumpkin juice and the breakfast special."

"Make that two pumpkin juices and a stack of waffles please." Hermione added.

"Alright huns, that will be here in two shakes."

Silence fell over them again and though they both tried to come up with something to talk about, neither of them could.

"Well aren't you two just the talkative types." They let out twin sighs of relief as the waitress came back with their orders. "Here's your grub but if you need anything else just holler." She was about to leave but stopped and turned back to them. "If you don't mind me pointing out, you two together are cuter than a pigmy puff in a knitted jumper." She smiled widely at them and then left to tend to another couple who had walked in.

Hermione and Draco both stared after her gapping before turning to each other. Upon seeing the same look on the others face they both burst into laughter.

"Oh Merlin… di…did you he…hear her?" Draco managed to get out.

Hermione clutched at her stomach and wiped at a few tears that had started to spill over. "She is absolutely certifiable! Who says things like that?"

"Obviously she does." Draco let a few more chuckles loose before calming down. He looked over at Hermione and saw that she had finally quieted as well.

As they both steadied their breathing they couldn't help but stare at each other in shock and a bit of confusion. They caught each others gaze and, try as they might, they couldn't look away. Draco had never seen such deep and wisdom filled eyes, and Hermione found herself lost in his grey, storm like orbs.

Someone dropped a fork on the other side of the café, breaking their gaze. Draco cleared his throat uncomfortably as Hermione looked out the window, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"Granger, did we just have a moment?" He sounded amused but Hermione could tell he was just as confused as she was.

"I… I think we did." She responded. For some reason, she felt shy and decided to distract them both. "Maybe we should eat. You know, before it gets cold?"

They started eating but Draco, feeling more relaxed after their laughing fit, kept the awkwardness from enveloping them. "So Granger, what have you been doing for the past five years?"

"First off, why don't we attempt to use first names? Think we can manage that?" Draco thought it was a fair enough request and agreed. "Well Draco, I thought about taking a year off, but then realized I'd probably drive myself mental. Instead, I applied to St. Mungos and was hired as an assistant to one of the healers. From there I worked my way up and am now Head Healer there." She was proud of her accomplishment and couldn't help but let the excitement she felt for her job show. "I've wanted to work there ever since my first potions lesson. I get to help people, actually use my mind to solve problems, do research on ways to cure unknown ailments… It's all fascinating really."

She had a dreamy look to her face and Draco couldn't help but admire her passion to succeed. It was one thing they did have in common. "What else? You haven't mentioned anything other than your work."

"Yes well, with the job I have there isn't really time for much else. I'm not big on the social scene and men often find me too intimidating to even consider asking out. And if they did I would say no. I have… well had a plan. Concentrate on my job and eventually, if I ever felt the need, start working on a family. Guess that idea's gone, isn't it?" She sighed sadly and Draco realized they had yet another thing in common.

"You're not the only one who's plans have been ruined Gr…Hermione. Mine was to run the many Malfoy businesses, estates, etc once my father retires, while establishing a better name for our family so we're no longer associated with death and fear. I eventually wanted, like you, to possibly, sometime in the distant future, start a family. But before all of that I wanted to travel the world and see everything it holds. I won't have to carry on the responsibilities of being a Malfoy for quite a number of years yet and I intended to follow my own passion of curse breaking. However, things change."

"Yeah, they do." Lost in their own thoughts of ruined dreams, neither of them placed any thought as to how they could apply this to their current relationship.

Hermione was the first to snap out of her daze. "So you said you wanted to be a curse breaker? Why is that?"

"Discovery. History. Curse breakers get to be the first to find new treasures, new parts of our history that past wizards tried to hide away. Like potions is a passion for you, magical history is a passion for me." He smiled wistfully before frowning. "Of course that's not a possibility now that I have to marry you and have a kid. What the bloody hell was the ministry thinking?"

He didn't mean it as an insult to her but, being so used to the snide side of him, Hermione took it as one. "What's that supposed to mean Malfoy? I already told you it's not my fault and we're both in the same boat. It's not like I want to start any kind of life with you either! As for what the Ministry was thinking, how the hell am I supposed to know? Obviously someone thought it would be hilarious to see us tear each other apart! The better question is what was I thinking when I agreed to come here with you? I'm done. Don't bother showing up at my flat again."

Hermione stormed out of the café positively fuming while Draco, still not sure as to what happened, stared wide eyed after her. He looked over to find the waitress seemingly just as shocked as he was.

"Hun, what was that?"

"You're guess is as good as mine."

.~***~.

"Ugh! That infuriating ferret! It's not as if I want this any more than he does. But no, instead of sticking to the civil conversation we were having he has to bring up the fact that he'd rather be with anyone else. I mean, I feel the same way but at least I had the decency to not say it to his face! Well at least not while we were having the truce…"

Hermione had long since given up on continuing her book and was still fuming as she sat in her flat that night. She realized that she may have slightly over reacted, but that's how things were with them. He'd insult her and she'd yell at him. How could they expect them to change all that history and actually get along? Better than get along actually. They expected them to get married!

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tapping at the window and she was surprised to find a gorgeous owl on the sill. Right away it was obvious who had sent it.

"Do I even want to know?" She grumbled as she let the owl in and untied the scroll from it's leg. When it didn't automatically fly away she sighed. "I suppose you aren't going until I reply to this?"

With reluctance she tore the seal and began to read:

_Dear Hermione,_

_Yes I used your first name because whether you believe so or not this truce is still ongoing and we are merely having a spat that we must work through like every couple out there. Am I delusional? Perhaps. But I'm not fond of the alternative. As it stands, I'll make a promise now think before I speak if you promise to talk to me before you over react and scream at me like a lunatic? Despite how it ended, I think this morning worked out much better than expected and am hoping we can retry it soon. Send your response back with King._

_Draco Malfoy_

"Well, that's about as close to an apology as you get from a Malfoy." She wanted to think over it some more, decide if it was really worth the effort it would take, but 'king' was creeping her out with his staring and she really didn't want to lose her magic. Finally, she flipped over the parchment and wrote two words…

_One month_.

* * *

Hope that chapter was worth the wait! Now you have a bit more insight to their charactes and can see where they may be able to get along if they get over themselves a bit. I kinda wanted to make this fic a bit different in the fact that, for once, Draco is the one who is taking the initiative and Hermione is the one being difficult. Next update (if I actually manage to not procrastinate for once) will be on Wednesday! Leave your thoughts please. Didn't get many comment or hits last time so I'm sad that people may be losing interest in my fics :(

Bet your lucky stars,  
~Ingenuity15


	5. Chapter 5

So, this is what will hopefully become you're regular Wednesday update from me (It's almost thursday but not quite so I still got it out to you in time! haha). I know it's been a while so hopefully not all of you have forgotten this story, and for those who have, hopefully you'll go back and reread it so you can continue to follow along. Out of the five stories I currently have, this is probably the most fun to write because there is very little drama going on and I will probably keep it that way. This one is going to be a light fic, but no worries, still going to throw in a twist or two :)

~Ingenuity15

iamsusan: I love when I'm able to introduce people to a new aspect of the fanfiction world. There are a lot of amazing Draco/Hermione fics out there so I hope you continue to find some you enjoy and that you keep reading.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and hope you like this next chappie!

* * *

Draco looked at the piece of parchment in utter confusion. _One month? One month 'till what?_ He couldn't figure out what she was going on about and, after staring at it for a good half hour, he assumed there was only one way he was going to find out.

Grabbing his cloak, Draco apparated just outside the flat he had first visited that morning.

Walking up to the door, Draco knocked loudly and only had to wait about half a minute before a very irritated Hermione opened the door. Upon discovering the identity of her late night caller, she was very nearly tempted to slam the door shut again.

"Don't you have any normal sleep wear?" Draco asked as he regarded her yellow teddy bear pyjamas. Without waiting for an invitation, he strode passed her and flopped onto her couch, looking much more comfortable than he had before their date.

"Sure Malfoy, just make yourself right at home." Hermione grumbled under her breath. She shut the door and turned to face him, a scowl on her face. Just as she had begun to relax, the reason for most of her tensions had to show up. "Is there a reason you're here Malfoy?"

"Now, now, Hermione. I know we had a little set back this morning, but that's no reason to be so hostile." Draco said with an easy smirk. He had known her for so long that, by now, he could tell when she was really angry at him or just annoyed. At the moment, he was confident enough that she was just very annoyed with him and that pushing a few of her buttons wouldn't hurt.

"Draco Malfoy! You knock on _my_ door at an ungodly hour, barge into _my_ flat, and sit on _my_ couch without asking permission and without consideration. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just curse you back to whatever hell-hole you crawled out of?"

Okay, so maybe he had misjudged and had pushed his luck too much… He decided to do some damage control and just get to the point of the visit. "It's your own fault I'm here. If you'd stop being so damn cryptic I wouldn't have needed to come over here!"

"What are you getting on about now?"

"Your message Granger! How in the name of Merlin's bloody shorts do you expect me to know what one month means? I ask you if we can get over our little tiff and start a clean slate… again, and your response? One month. I mean, I'm good Granger, but nobody's that good. I was kind of hoping for a simple yes or something along those lines."

Realisation dawned upon her and Hermione plopped down with a groan onto the arm chair next to the couch, head in her hands. "That's why you came Malfoy? Couldn't you have just sent another letter or, better yet, have waited until a respectable hour sometime tomorrow?"

Draco scoffed at her, "You'd have me wait until tomorrow? I'm sure you can understand when I say the not knowing would have driven me mad long before then. And I thought we were on a first name bases by now _Hermione_?"

"But you just called me Granger not thirty seconds ago!"

"I surely have no idea what you're talking about _Hermione_. So, _Hermione_, could you please tell me what you meant by one month? I'd really like to know, _Hermione…" _

"Ugh, stop saying my name Malfoy!" Hermione interrupted him. "I'm starting to really hate the sound of it."

"I'll stop saying it, _Hermione_, when you remember to call me Draco."

"Fine, Draco then. Do you want me to explain my response or not?" She glowered in irritation at the self-satisfied smirk that graced his face and then continued. "What I meant by it is that I'll give you one month to convince me that this," she indicated between the two of them, "isn't going to be a huge mistake. No matter what happens, I won't make any decisions for the next thirty days, but I'm letting you know now that you're going to need every moment of it. I'm going to take _a lot_ of convincing."

"I can think of a few ways that I could use to convince you." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Hermione threw a pillow at him.

"Pig!" she tried to sound affronted but had trouble keeping a smile off of her face. Normally, she would have been insulted by his suggestive humour but, for some reason, she found herself laughing with him tonight.

"Okay, so I have one month? Fair enough. That was better than I expected. We can start by you explaining to me what that contraption is." He pointed and Hermione followed his finger to find it aimed at the television she had been watching before Draco had knocked on the door.

"It's called a television, or TV for short. It's a muggle invention used as a source of entertainment. They watch movies and television shows…" He just seemed to become more confused the more she tried to explain, so she went a different root. "I guess you can say it's kind of like wizarding photos with sound."

"But what's the point?" He asked sceptically.

"Like I said, it's a form of entertainment." When he still looked like he wasn't quite sure what to think, Hermione made a decision; hoping she wasn't going to regret it later. "Why don't you stay for a while and we could watch a movie? I think it's something easier understood by experiencing it."

"Are you propositioning me?" He was still joking with her and she knew it.

"Only in your dreams. I'll be right back; you can't have a movie night without snacks!" Draco watched as she walked out of the room and disappeared into what he assumed to be the kitchen. He stared curiously at the pictures flashing across the surface of the box like object.

He didn't know what a movie was or why he had been so eager to agree to watch one, but he didn't want to think on it now. Instead, he thought about how he was going to win Hermione over. He couldn't understand how his own feelings had changed so fast, but they had. He didn't hate her anymore, not that he liked her either; not yet anyhow. The thing that scared him the most though was that he could clearly see how that, with time, they could begin to like each other. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that yet.

"I'm back," Hermione announced her presence and laid down the popcorn and soft drinks she had gathered. "I was trying to think about what we should watch because I know you don't know a lot of muggle terms, so I've decided we will be watching one of my favourites that is more futuristic and something I've seen so many times that I won't mind you asking the million questions I'm sure you're going to have." She held up the disk to show him and he read the words 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'.

"What's a hitchhiker?" Draco asked, head tilted quizzically.

Let the questioning begin.

.~***~.

Hermione stirred from her sleep as the sunlight streaming through the window warmed her face. She tried to stretch but felt something restraining her. Confused, she blinked her eyes open and tried to find the source of her current predicament, only to find herself staring into a pair of sleepy grey orbs.

Recognition hit both Hermione and Draco at the same moment and their eyes widened before…

"Ahhhhhh!" The duo screamed and Draco jumped up throwing Hermione – who had been resting in his arms and against his chest – onto the floor with a dull thud.

Panicked, he looked at the dazed girl on the floor before declaring, "This didn't happen". He fled to the door and quickly departed, leaving no time for Hermione to even register what had just happened.

Draco knew he was freaking out but he had a reason. Waking up with Hermione in his arms had felt so completely right, until he realised what was actually happening. This was Granger; frizzy haired, book-worm, Granger.

He could recall watching the movie last night and actually enjoying the muggle invention immensely. Hermione was right about all the questions he would ask and he realised that she answered them all without one ounce of annoyance. He had found himself laughing along with her during many parts and learning a lot of things about the muggle world along the way. The last thing he remembered was begging to watch another movie and getting half way through something called 'Lord of the Rings' before sleep had overtaken him.

He was beyond confused by everything he was feeling and decided to pay a visit to the only person he felt he could talk to. Apparating outside of Zabini Manor, he strode in without knocking and immediately regretted it.

"Holy fucking shit. I'm blind, oh I'll never see again. What the hell man!" He turned around with his hands over his eyes, trying to get the image out of his head.

Right there, in the sitting room, Draco had caught his best mate Blaise Zabini and his match Luna Lovegood in a very compromising situation. Blaise had Luna bent over one of the couches and although all Draco could see was Blaise's back and tanned ass, it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.

"Oi, mate. Don't you know how to knock?" Blaise yelled at his friend in frustration and Draco could hear rustling as he assumed they began to redress.

"Have I ever knocked before? How was I supposed to know you would be getting it on? You have heard of a bedroom haven't you?"

"How very unadventurous of you Draco. I don't know where all those rumours in school about you came from if you think sex should be kept in the bedroom. Oh, and you can turn around now." Draco was shocked that these words came, not from Blaise, but from Luna.

His cheeks tinged pink as he turned to face them; happy to find everyone clothed and sitting a comfortable distance from each other. Draco finally felt comfortable enough to step into the room. Just as he was about to take a seat across from them, however, Draco stopped and looked at the chair in disgust. "Have you violated this one yet?"

Blaise laughed loudly at his friend and shook his head. Relieved, Draco sat down and looked at their interlocked hands. "So I'm assuming you two are getting along well?" Now that the traumatic event had ended, he was finally seeing a bit of humour in the situation.

"And I'm assuming you're here to talk about Hermione?" Luna countered with a raised brow. Blaise looked amused as Draco gaped at the blonde girl. He hadn't known Luna very well at school, always thinking of her as the crazy chick, but this calm and obviously confident woman was not what he was expecting when Blaise had first told him of his match.

"Okay, spill Draco. You already ruined the mood so I might as well help you out." Draco looked down at his fidgeting hands for a while, not quite sure where to start.

"I think I'm feeling things for Granger! I'm just not sure what they are yet." He finally blurted out. At his friend's prompting, Draco recounted the events that had taken place since he had picked up Hermione for their date. _Was that really just yesterday morning?_ he thought to himself.

By the time he finished, Blaise and Luna were looking at each other, sharing a knowing look. "What?" he asked them, irritated at their identical grins.

"My little Drakie's all grown up and has a crush." Blaise said while Luna 'awed'. Draco just looked at the two like they had just sprouted an extra head each.

"I am not crushing on Granger!" he denied adamantly. "How could you even suggest such a thing?"

He was outraged. How dare they think that he was starting to have romantic feelings for Granger. She was and always would be a thorn in his side. His child like stubbornness wasn't lost on either one of his companions and they both knew, Blaise especially, that if they didn't force Draco to admit to his growing feelings for Hermione, he would screw things up.

"Draco," It was Blaise who was going to try and break him first. "You are so close to letting go of your past mate. You've let go of your prejudices and that was a huge step, but you're still letting your history with Hermione rule how you feel about her now. From what you've told us, you've let that wall down a few times and have seen what we've all seen; you two are perfect for each other."

Draco scoffed at his friend, but he was really thinking over everything Blaise had said. He knew it was true but he just couldn't make himself fully believe it.

Luna took her turn next. "Describe to us your ideal woman Draco."

Not sure where she was going with this, he thought on it for a moment. "Obviously someone who's intelligent and I can have an actual conversation with. Someone who's confident and independent so they don't feel the need to cling to me every moment of the day. Someone who understands the importance of work but also the importance of family. And if she happens to be attractive then that would be a bonus."

"Mhmm, and you don't think Hermione fits into all of those categories? She's obviously smart and when you guys aren't yelling at each other you can really talk. She's confident and very independent so you would never have to worry about her being clingy. She loves her job at St. Mungo's but always makes time for her family and friends. She's also rather pretty."

He wanted to argue with her, tell her that there was no way that Hermione Granger could ever be the woman of his dreams; but he had to admit that she was right.

Draco was astounded to realise that he could very well be on his way to falling for Hermione Granger.

.~***~.

Hermione had no idea what to think. One moment she was blissfully dreaming and the next she was unbelievably confused. She stared at the door that Draco had departed by for a good while before picking herself up and going to see Ginny.

She flooed to the flat Ginny and Harry were currently sharing but soon found out that Harry was the only one home. Ginny had gone to visit with her mother and though she loved Harry like a brother, he was not her first choice when it came to talking feelings.

After explaining a bit about the situation, Harry suggested that she go and see Ron and Pansy. If anyone could help her understand what she was feeling and how to get over her past with Draco it would be them. After all, they had gone through something similar during the war.

It didn't take her long to find Ron and Pansy. They had moved in with each other after the matching had given them that last push together and Hermione could tell that they were really happy together.

Seeing the distressed look on the brunettes face, Pansy made her sit down and she spilled the entire story, from Draco showing up unexpectedly and taking her out, to the fight, to the letter, and finally to their movie night and when they had awoken that morning.

"Harry suggested I talk to you guys which makes a lot of sense. It's just… how did you two do it? How did you get passed your history with each other?"

"'Mione, it wasn't easy, I can tell you that. It took a while for me to realise that what house we were in didn't define who we are. Like with you and Malfoy, it took a few situations in which we really saw who the other was for us to realise just how wrong we had been."

"Ron's right Hermione." Pansy chimed in. "I know you might not see it now, but if you think back on the past twenty-four hours and the moments where you weren't concentrated on the past, what did you feel?"

Hermione was taking everything they said to heart and really thought about what she had been feeling those moments she had spent with Draco. She could admit to herself that when she had let her guard down, she had really enjoyed herself.

Maybe a relationship with Draco could work out; she just had to give it a real chance.

* * *

There you go guys! As you can see, I'm obviously not going to drag out their animosity towards each other for any length of time. There will be other things thrown into this story, but I really just want to have it kind of short and sweet; so I really don't see this reaching anything more than 15 chapters. If I decide to extend it though you guys will be the first to know! Reviews are always welcome and thanks for following!

~Ingenuity15


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